This ship is meant to be the Sunshine!! version of NicoMaki, honestly. And I believe NicoMaki came about before the anime even aired - actually, think way back to when the Mogyutto "love" de Sekkin Chuu! PV first came out (which is when I started to ship them as well), so it wasn't based off of the few interactions they had in the anime. I think the creators caught onto that and added a bit more fuel for the ship in the second season though. If I remember correctly, the old PVs were also how the EriUmi pairing came to be as well.

Nico's popularity... I don't understand it very well myself. I suppose it's because of how eccentric her character is (stalking, tsundere, trying to act more superior than she actually is, but she is also quite dedicated, kind and caring underneath).

last edited at Sep 3, 2016 8:14PM

I ship Yuu x Sayaka... But one can only dream. ._.

Glad I'm not the only one.

Hey, where can I buy the sequels? I assume that you know how to read Japanese cause I heard there aren't any translations available.

I usually buy my games off of Amazon.co.jp, although the shipping rates are a nightmare considering I live in Canada. I think the second game is well worth the purchase though. Erika's sharp tongue and Chidori's serious, yet socially inept nature go hand-in-hand with each other. Although the first game was mostly focused on Suou and how she is influenced by her surroundings, the second game primarily focuses on the relationship between Erika and Chidori and how they ease into the roles of being Ametiés.

The second game is a lot more laidback and gives off quite a different feeling from the first, but I personally don't think that's a bad thing... and more Erika never hurts.

Never got around to playing this game (even without translations) despite going through the second game first (I was shamelessly enticed by Chidori's character design and seiyuu), but with Aki-hen having been recently released, I figured now was a good time as ever to pick up this game.

When I started playing the second game, I already knew about Mayuri's disappearance, despite not having played the first game. Therefore, when I picked this game up, I felt like I already knew what to expect... but it was surprisingly more heart wrenching than I thought. Despite hating Mayuri's seiyuu in the beginning, I slowly grew to like her. Now she has become my favorite character along with Chidori.

Anyhow, I really enjoyed this game. So many things about this game make it easily one of my favorites, such as the writing style, references to literature, beautifully composed soundtrack, aesthetically appealing artwork, incredibly detailed characters and finally, I really love how everything was woven together so well. Although the mysteries were tacky in that they would typically play out in the same way every time, I thought it made the game all the more interesting (and especially since Innocent Grey seems to have a knack for incorporating mystery-genre elements into their games).

What I liked the most about the game was definitely the character development of Shirahane Suou. I found her character especially relatable, since I was practically the same as her when it came to social situations. It really impressed me how subtle her changes took place throughout the game. Little by little, the cowardly, ever-so-paranoid and always self-doubting Shirahane Suou took a couple steps closer towards something she originally thought was unattainable for her and closed the gap that separated her from her much-admired Amitié, Kousaka Mayuri. Although I started the game completely uninterested in the main character that reminded me much of myself, I finished it feeling nothing but compassion for Suou. I'm glad that the game revolved around her - a girl who deserves nothing but happiness and friendship.

As for the character of Kousaka Mayuri... I didn't have the best first impression about her, but I thought it was super interesting how relaxed and calm I felt towards her character. Like Suou, I quickly came to recognize the things she admired within Mayuri. She was sociable, humorous, honest, straightforward with her thoughts and highly respectable. On the outside, she seemed like the perfect girl who was easy to get along with, much like the protagonists that Suou admires from her books. But it took me halfway into the game to realize that even someone as unreachable as her was still, at the end of the day, just an ordinary schoolgirl. In my opinion, her character was beautifully written. Strong, but gentle and reliable, you could depend on a loyal friend like her for any occasion. However, she is not without fault, and it really shows in the later parts of the novel. As a random note, how she acted towards Suou after realizing her feelings for her was super adorable... and Rikka even noticed it immediately.

Overall, to me, the game was very enjoyable. Suou, Mayuri and Rikka were very interesting characters and very much so worth learning about. Given that the whole game was basically about Suou and how her surroundings have influenced her, I definitely love how it was played out. There were very few things that left a sour taste in my mouth, (one of these things being Mayuri's sudden disappearance... oh and I felt like I was sucker-punched right in the gut by Innocent Grey when I saw the ai ai gasa and expected what was to come) so I'm very pleased with the game.

It's time for me to replay the second game and then move onto the third. I'm super hyped for the final game in the series, but since 2017 is still so far away, it seems I will have to rely on these three games to keep me busy for a while.

I feel like Inoue and Kase never dated, but Inoue seems fishy as hell.

Never forget that even roses have thorns.

I honestly don't know what to interpret from this game based on everyone's comments and randomly clicking the spoiler tags o_O I was pretty psyched about it just on the art alone since it had the right polished shoujo style I've been waiting for in a yuri game. I'm a bit conflicted in wanting to know what to expect yet trying not to spoil the entire game outright. Am I right in interpreting the game has many dark twisted bad endings and the happy endings are... normal?

Yep, basically. I'd still give it a playthrough though. :P

Screw it.

I'm all for Horang x Gayoon ( ´ ▽ ` )

My personal favorite is Sasameki Koto. :P

Somehow, Mimika's side ponytail and silliness reminds me of Nanakorobi Nene from Koukaku no Pandora.

I think a "story route" or true route would've been nice. By that, I mean something that reveals the whole truth of everyone's time at Haizawa... and the current status of the people that used to work at the facility, amongst other things. Something that actually tells a story rather than solely building relationships based on the past, I guess! So many concepts were thrown at us, but they were not utilized in the story - only referenced.

I think the story aspect in Itsuki's route had so much potential, but they missed out. This VN was a lot shorter than I thought and so many parts could've been fleshed out or expanded upon in my opinion.

It was still really fun to play through though.

But I agree that I really like Kyouko, but again, her character and back story could've really used more work. We roughly know what she's like, but I don't feel like it was nearly enough. Also, with Sakuya being reborn was... a little weird. I feel like, despite it being bittersweet, I would've preferred to see Asuka and Kyouko work out their kinks over time.

last edited at Jul 14, 2016 6:57AM

Anyone know who Asuka's Seiyuu is? She sounds very familiar...

Asakura Azumi.

Some roles of hers from the top of my head include: Inukai Isuke in Akuma no Riddle, Hagiwara Yukiho from Idolm@sters, Shokuhou Misaki from Toaru Kagaku no Railgun S, Asia from Highschool DxD, Tsuyuri Kumin from Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!, Tobisawa Misaki from Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm (or whatever it was called) and Shiina Mayu from the Lilycle Drama CD series (and the Lilycle game).

She has a LOOT of other roles too. Her voice can be rather annoying (see: Kumin or Asia), but it can also be really calming and mature (see: Misaki x2, Mayu, Isuke).

I believe she also does eroge or lots of VNs in general, but I don't really remember.

last edited at Jul 13, 2016 4:01PM

Okaaay, just finished Itsuki's routes as well.

As a side note, I've always secretly shipped Nao x Sakuya for some reason. I'm happy that the game put some implications of Nao x Itsuki when Asuka went for Sakuya/Kyoko and Nao x Sakuya when Asuka went for Itsuki. At least our beloved Nao doesn't have to end up alone!

Most of my questions were cleared up, so that's good. Looks like the last ending I have to tackle is the After School Ending.

This game is pretty good, but a little on the short side (6 hours for me). I don't regret throwing almost $40 CAD at it, though.

---

My thoughts after clearing it (without the After School Ending):

• Nao is still best girl, obviously.
• Hooooooooly crap, Nao's bad ending is dark, but Itsuki's is on a whole other level. You know, about "becoming one" and all... and how Asuka's was eating "Itsuki's stew" even though Asuka was the one who cooked it and that she was "running out of ingredients." Ohhhh deaaaar...
• Loved the game, even though I didn't think I would in the beginning.
• Would definitely recommend this route order: Kaede (she can either go first or last, I think) > Nao > Sakuya > Itsuki. It helps story wise.
• The bad ends are worth the read... I think... but they are really dark.
• I also love that Asakura Azumi even made a note of the uh, stew. Seems like she found it incredibly amusing, haha.
• After replaying part of Nao's route, it seems Kyouko was the one who fought with Nao in the hallway. Now I'm afraid I might have missed a lot of things.

last edited at Jul 14, 2016 3:42AM

Yeah, I understand that Sakuya's been away from Asuka for years, but I think the kiss proves that she isn't really over her. I agree that she chose Itsuki in the end of Nao's route just to avoid complications, especially since Asuka said she wasn't interested in pursuing her feelings of the past, but I think Sakuya left primarily out of consideration and not because she had moved on. HOWEVER, we'll get to delve deeper into this in Sakuya's route, so we'll see!

Hmm, I still think that scene is very shady. It's almost inconceivable as to how Nao did a full 180 from her "bad girl" days, so I agree that when she expressed her desire to kill in that scene, it was her reverting back to her old self. However, I don't think she was referring to the people who kept her out, but it's open to interpretation. I thought she was referring to Itsuki or Sakuya since they were beginning to interfere. Or she could have been talking about the person who supplied her the medicine or the person who kept calling her up.

One thing that I think is particularly scary is that Nao might have actually killed someone before. Maybe she was the one who burned the institute down? Who knows, I haven't played the other routes yet. But Nao could easily have wiped other people's memories... though I think this theory of mine is a little farfetched, so I'll stop talking about it, haha.

I figured the stabbing was real, but I just wonder who did it. I think Itsuki has a big heart and wouldn't have stabbed Asuka out of irrationality. I wouldn't think Nao did it either, so the person I'm suspecting is Sakuya. Nao and Sakuya had a lot of tension between them, especially in the hallway scene after Sakuya borrowed Nao's notes. But still, I don't know. Part of me believes Itsuki isn't the stabby-stabby type, especially without reason.

Casually replaying part of Nao's route and I just realized (since I'm forgetful and I played this at 6 am when I should've been sleeping, OOPS) that Nao was planning to do something to Itsuki on the rooftop had Asuka not followed her. So she might just have a killing intent in her, hmm.

Also just played the bad end and wow, that is... really disturbing.

It also seems like there are 6 message cards when there are only 5 characters. What's up with that, I wonder.

---

Playing through Sakuya's route right now and just got to the scene where Itsuki brings the proof of the research facility 6 months after the USB stick incident. Looks like Sakuya had a twin sister named Kyoko. Original theory was incorrect, so deleted it.

This game is a lot... weirder than I thought it would be.

---

Just finished Sakuya's route. Pretty weird, but I enjoyed it. Her bad ending was disturbing, but ... nothing compared to Nao's. Nao's bad end just sends all sorts of chills down my back.

Kyoko + Sakuya + Asuka OT3 man.

last edited at Jul 12, 2016 8:46PM

I just want to know who kept calling Nao. I understand that MAY have been the person who gave her the power enhancing pills, but WHO are they?

And also, as much as I love badass Nao, I'm curious as to why she was so abusive to Asuka in the rooftop scene. I understand Nao intended to wipe her memories so she didn't give a crap about what she was saying, but she immediately reverted back to her little sister mode when her memory manipulation stopped working. She also knew there was a chance that her powers wouldn't work and that it was a huge gamble. Even if her sister was inevitably recovering her memories, Nao could've taken a different approach to revealing the truth... or she didn't have to speak up at all. Makes me think she's a bit more psychotic than she appears.

Another question I had was who burned down the Haizawa facility and how? And moreover, Asuka went "missing" after the fire, but we are not shown how Nao found her and how they integrated into the Oosachi family. This point is secondary, but I think it could've added to their relationship.

I also feel that everything was too abrupt in the end. Like how easily Sakuya just kind of gave up... but I'm sure it was out of consideration and that she still does love Asuka.

Oh yeah, and something else that I had on my mind was why did Nao come home saying she should've "killed them"? Who's "they" and how come Nao wants to kill them? And wow, I never knew Nao had it in her to kill other people, despite her bad girl image.

Finally, I don't know if I missed something or not, but what's up with the stabbing? Asuka kept insisting how real it felt, but I don't think we were shown the reasons behind it. And despite Itsuki's words, is it possible somebody used their powers on Asuka to heal her if she actually got stabbed? Or maybe both of them helped at the same time? Who knows.

Hopefully some of my questions will be answered in Sakuya's route.

Finished Ohara's and Nao's routes in about 4 hours and I'm surprisingly enjoying this VN. Having played Ohara's routes first, I was completely thrown off by Nao's routes and now I'm expecting great things from Sakuya's. I know for sure I'm not going to dabble into any of Itsuki's routes for now because I just can't bring myself to like her character for some reason.

And although Nao's route was really strange and disgusting when they kissed before the credits, eugh, I find myself absolutely intrigued by her character. I'm also secretly a sucker for Kakuma Ai's voice, so I guess I am a bit biased. And even though I dislike Tamura Yukari's voice, I'm all for Sakuya.

At the end of Nao's routes, I was left with a BUNCH of unanswered questions, which I'm sure will be answered in Sakuya's and Itsuki's routes. Err, well, maybe.

In any case, Nao is badass and I love her.

last edited at Jul 12, 2016 9:15AM

I feel like that sweet revenge was well-warranted. From a storytelling standpoint, I think it's super fascinating witnessing the descent of Yurim's character and her morals being flushed down the drain. When I put myself in Yurim's place, I can see why she'd feel so satisfied over using Minji as her new play toy.

I like this story a lot - much better than My Joy, at least.

Spoilers about the next two chapters (not a summary of the content, but here's what it'll entail):

New character is introduced. Not about Sayo and Umesawa. Closure for Satake.

Oh, bought this on Amazon. Thought it would be something like AnoKiss, but...

last edited at Jun 4, 2016 9:00PM

Game just came out a couple days ago and I just got my copy. Will be playing it later, heh.

I'm interested in seeing how it goes, but havent read past chaper 4. Although massively scaring the discussion page, I'm glad you guys are using the spoiler tags :)

Not scaring, I'd say. More like a warning... POTENTIALLY triggering, but that's a stretch.

The senpai/kouhai couple trope is what I remember as being the cliche, but considering everything that happens for each couple, and having to keep track of everything happening in general, it was well diversified and each character was unique enough to stand out with their own set of characterizations, worries, flaws and eventual resolution.

Huh, I guess cliche was a bad word to use. I've seen the tropes for all pairings at least once before in the yuri mangas I've read (except ghost x ghost, surprisingly), so that's why I mentioned it. The stories for each pairing were also very basic to me, but it's oddly fitting and satisfying. What got me was that I knew that ghosts could not linger forever from the very beginning, but when the actual scene came by, it really hit me.

What actually hit EVEN HARDER was by the time we were introduced to the Nena/Sasa/Umi trio, I started to realize that Yuna became less lonely and antisocial. When the ending came along and made it clear that this was the case, I got emotional.

@adyatma16

The character in my avatar is also a part of the Lilycle series, if you're someone who is conscious about art/design.

last edited at Nov 1, 2016 4:06AM

@Faust
Voter apathy? I suppose so. I didn't say I wouldn't sign it, but I understand completely that my post most likely came off the wrong way. Still, I'm trying to be realistic about it. I frankly don't see it happening, but hey, if it does, you won't see me complaining.

I just feel there needs to be more than just a petition to do the work though.

I know what you mean, it just feels like it was a really good work tho, and tbh, would make such a great yuri anime
There isn't a lot of yuri anime, and for real, not all of them were like, incredible either. Kindred Spirits really blew me away, it was amazing, it was portrayed beautifully and I'm so hopelessly attached to the characters and would love to see so much more from them. It has really great potential, wouldn't you agree?
At least the petition has caught Liar-Soft's attention, that's a good start already

Agreed, it was really well made and has a great story to it. It was a bit cliche, but it fit and worked out really well. I shed tears towards the end too (but I cry a lot anyway, haha).

Anyway, sorry about my first post coming off the wrong way! I think with proper crowdfunding, that would really grab their attention.

If you even try to read on, you'll see that chapters 16 to around 20 tries to get the reader to pity Sana with some woeful backstory, but I'm not feeling it. When Megumi and Makoto started dating, it was quite cute, but not worth reading given the sudden change of direction.

@adyatma16
Lilycle is currently a series of drama CDs that follow (currently) 6 pairings andhow they get together. Each drama CD focuses on a different couple. There are bonus CDs floating around here and there, as well as duo character songs. A visual novel adaptation is coming out on April 28th, which also has a 7th trio/pairing (unconfirmed) as its main characters.

The game has a calendar system, much like Okujou no Yurirei-san.

@Faust
Voter apathy? I suppose so. I didn't say I wouldn't sign it, but I understand completely that my post most likely came off the wrong way. Still, I'm trying to be realistic about it. I frankly don't see it happening, but hey, if it does, you won't see me complaining.

I just feel there needs to be more than just a petition to do the work though.

I bought all three volumes on Amazon some months ago, but only bothered to read volume 1 and little bits and pieces of volume 3. (Just kidding, decided to skim a little bit of volume 2 just now)

I won't summarize what I read, but I will list the spoilers that I can remember at the top of my head. Remember that I read this a couple months ago:

Mikoto gets awfully sensitive about the topic of her wings, which is very suspicious.

Sayuri gradually comes to obtain romantic feelings for Mikoto, as if it wasn't obvious enough already.

SPOILERS WITH OGA IN VOLUME 2:

Skimming volume 2 as I write actually. Oga drops a little stuffed bear keychain, which gets picked up by a high school girl named Himeko- who believes Oga to be a boy.

They meet up again, where Himeko finds out Oga is really a girl, but calls her what is essentially in this context, a hermaphrodite. At school, Himeko's friends claim to have seen Himeko and Oga in a cafe together, and they ask if Oga is Himeko's boyfriend.

OF COURSE, to save face, Himeko says yes. She then blackmails Oga into pretending to be her boyfriend for their school cultural festival... at the expense of poor Oga's teddy bear keychain's life!

They go on a date together and end up in a shop that sells cute trinkets. Himeko accepts that while Oga looks like a male on the outside, Oga is really pure on in the inside and very much so feminine in that regard. Himeko also acknowledges that despite her own selfishness, Oga is very kind and will never get mad at her.

As they leave the store, Oga sees Sayuri walking around, and while Oga does not call out to Sayuri, she does let Himeko know of Sayuri's existence. Oga calls Sayuri cute, but Himeko disagrees out of jealousy. Oga clarifies that Sayuri's cuteness actually comes from her personality and not necessarily her appearance... which drives Himeko to even an DEEPER stage of jealousy.

As Himeko is about to rage quit on their date, she nearly falls down a flight of stairs, but Oga catches her in the most cliche pose imaginable. Himeko blushes furiously and her hair is tangled up around a button on Oga's sleeve. Before Himeko runs away, Oga gives Himeko a present from the trinket shop. Of course, we see here that Himeko is totally swept off her feet.

Not going to finish reading, but the later parts of the volume are about Oga's backstory and some "stripping" accident with Himeko. It's not as naughty or dark as I'm making it out to be, though.

SPOILERS FROM VOLUME 3:

There is a new character (whose name I cannot remember for the life of me) introduced and she is a photographer. She is immediately enticed by Mikoto's angelic appearance (huehue) and becomes INSANELY OBSESSED WITH HER... gradually, that is.

Meanwhile, Sayuri is falling more and more in love with Mikoto and is coming to accept it as well. However, this is some really poor timing because this new photographer lady takes much of Mikoto's time away from Sayuri.

Lots of bad vibes from this creepy stalker obsessed photographer lady.

And at the end of the volume... photographer lady tries to push herself onto Mikoto. However, Mikoto makes it super clear that her love belongs to Sayuri, and Sayuri only. Photographer lady does not take no for an answer and forces a kiss on Mikoto, which Sayuri witnesses... aaand cliffhanger ensues.

last edited at Apr 12, 2016 10:16AM